英文自修141：盲人摸象与分歧纷争（20140918）

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Question:

What is the main topic of this speech?

A.Elephants and their tusks.

B.Dogmatism and Right in Wrong.

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Thought for the Day 20140918 Bishop Tom Butler

Of course there’s a news elephant (Scotland’s referendum on independence) in the studio this morning but I don’t want to talk about that, I want to talk about elephants because according to the National Geographic News elephants are coming under real threat, poachers (illegal hunters) have killed 100 thousand elephants in three years, Central Africa has lost 64% of its elephants in a decade.

It’s all down to the desirability (demand) of ivory particularly in the Far East. For years now elephants have been killed for the sake of their tusks (teeth). To try to reduce their slaughter strict rules restricting the sale of ivory came into being. There were efforts to register the provenance (place of origin) of each piece with unregistered ivory risking (in danger of) being burnt. The consequence of these draconian (very strict) measures was that ivory became in short supply and the price of it rose rapidly. The result of this was, it seems, an increase in illegal elephant poaching resulting in elephants coming under even more threat. A classic example of the law of unintended consequences when measures aren’t totally thought through.

Ivory was a desirable product even in biblical times. King Solomon’s throne was inlaid (decorated) with it and he sent trading ships south once every three years which came back loaded with gold, silver and ivory. But elephants themselves don’t appear in the bible until very much later when the Greek conquerors used them like tanks, in warfare against the Jewish rebel forces.

Elephants were well known and well used in India of course, not only in warfare but in agriculture and hunting, and one poem from India is still used today in interfaith (different-religion) circles as a warning of too much dogmatism (顽固不化）. It relates how six blind men encountered an elephant for the first time and tried to determine what it was like by touching it, but it happened that each touched a different part of the animal. The first happened to fall across its sturdy (strong) side and shouted “The Elephant is very like a wall”. The second feeling the tusk said, “it’s clear its very like a spear.” The third happened to take the elephant’s squirming (squiggling) trunk and said “It’s very like a snake.” On to the fourth who coming across the elephant’s leg said, “It’s very like a tree.” The fifth touching the ear, said, “it’s very like a fan.” And the sixth catching the swinging tail said, “It’s very like a rope.” And so the poem ends “These men disputed loud and long, though each was partly in the right and all were in the wrong.”

It’s a warning not to be over dogmatic in religious disputes, but I suspect it also applies to other sorts of disputes. I might feel mightily strongly about something but it might just be that my opponent has a partial truth to share which could be of value. It could also be that both of us are wrong in our rightness.